Image sharing and social media service Pinterest has shut down its Creator Rewards program. The program gave creators the opportunity to earn money by creating content and meeting specified engagement goals. In a note the service shared on its creator rewards help page, Pinterest wrote that “The Creator Rewards program will end on November 30, 2022. To all the creators who participated, thank you for your partnership. We’re committed to exploring more ways to help you find success on Pinterest and we’re looking forward to finding more opportunities to work together in 2023.”
The Creator Rewards program, a video format introduced last year by the company, required participants to create Idea Pins based on a monthly theme to earn money.
The latest development which was first reported by The Information will see Pinterest pay creators that participated in at least one reward goal for August, September, or October 2022, a one-time bonus. Pinterest, however, failed to specify the amount it plans to give out on its Creator Rewards page. According to Pinterest, it was bringing the program to an end “in order to focus on other creator programs and features.”
When Creator Rewards debuted last year, Pinterest said it planned to invest 420 million in the program. The company also launched a separate $500,000 Creator Fund last year and added another $1.2 million to the project this year. This fund was created to help creators from underrepresented communities with money and ad rewards.
Although Creator Rewards has been shut down, Pinterest will continue with programs like Creator Fund, Idea Pins, and paid partnerships that’ll see Idea Pins converted into ads.
Pinterest isn’t the only company that has been investing in creator programs. Companies like Snapchat and Meta have programs targeted at creators which sees them invest millions of dollars every year.